Phoenix Children's Hospital

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Children’s hospital becomes bright desert oasis

When architectural firm HKS of Dallas, Texas, performed a $538 million expansion of Phoenix Children's Hospital, they based their renovation design on the theme of a desert flower blooming at night. Scott Oldner, Principal of Scott Oldner Lighting Design in Dallas, helped HKS form an oasis in the desert with innovative interior and exterior lighting that reflected the project's theme. Oldner specified Color Kinetics LED lighting fixtures to create an immersive escape for patients and their families.

For the exterior design, Oldner had to comply with a number of uplighting and building lighting restrictions. Oldner wanted to illuminate exterior architectural elements to turn the building into a beacon that could be easily seen from almost any direction while adhering to the local Dark Sky ordinance and the project's sustainability and budget requirements. LED lighting fixtures were the perfect choice. Oldner used iColor Accent Powercore (now specified with iColor Accent MX Powercore) to outlinethe building's distinctive architectural fins and serve as a canvas for artistic, animated color displays. Long ribbons of iColor Accent Powercore luminaires descend the front of the building and merge into runs of iColor Cove MX Powercore luminaires in the lobby area, visually connecting the building's exterior and interior.

Upon entering the building, patients and visitors find themselves in a cheerful, colorful lobby uplit with rows of concealed, color-changing iColor Cove MX Powercore luminaires. The main corridor features a water wall that's a bit of a surprise. The initial design called for an indoor wall fountain using actual water, but due to costs another alternative needed to be found. "Why not do it with light?" Oldner suggested. HKS lined the wall from floor to ceiling with textured, wave-patterned acrylic, then Oldner used iColor Cove MX Powercore luminaires to uplight each section of the acrylic with a water-like effect incorporating varying shades of blue and aqua. Oldner also embedded iColorCove MX Powercore luminaires in the ceiling domes to line the hallway with bright, vivid colors. All the LED lighting fixtures are controlled by a single Light System Manager lighting controller from Color Kinetics.

Interior designer Sandra Miller suggested embedding iColor Tile MX luminaires in the walls for way-finding and interactive fun down at the toddler level. iColor Cove MX Powercore luminaires also illuminate the back walls of the retail store display boxes, while halogen spotlights, properly dimmed, set off the merchandise in white against the full-color backdrop.

"From the start of the design process, beautiful, magical color was required for the Desert Blooms concept, the brainchild of HKS," said Oldner. "Only Color Kinetics had the quality, specialized product offerings, and customer service needed to realize our vision." Because of the flexibility and precision of Color Kinetics LED lighting systems and the high level of support offered by Color Kinetics sales engineers, Oldner was able to design a lighting system that closely matched his renderings.